The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran

Edited by D. T. Potts

Description

Iran's heritage is as varied as it is complex, and the archaeological, philological, and linguistic scholarship of the region has not been the focus of a comprehensive study for many decades. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran provides up-to-date, authoritative essays on a wide range of topics extending from the earliest Paleolithic settlements in the Pleistocene era to the Arab conquest in the 7th century AD. The volume, authored by specialists based both inside and outside of Iran, is divided into sections covering prehistory, the Chalcolithic, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Achaemenid period, the Seleucid and Arsacid periods, the Sasanian period, and the Arab conquest. In addition, more specialized chapters are included which treat numismatics, religion, languages, political ideology, calendrics, the use of color, textiles, Sasanian silver and reliefs, and political relations with Rome and Byzantium. No other single volume covers as much of Iran's archaeology and history with the same degree of authority. Drawing on the results of the latest fieldwork in Iran and studies by scholars from around the world, this volume addresses a longstanding gap in the literature of the ancient Near East.

The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran

Edited by D. T. Potts

Author Information

Edited by D. T. Potts, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University

D. T. Potts is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University.

Contributors:

Javier Álvarez-Mon, University of Sydney Alireza Askari Chaverdi, Shiraz University Carol Bier, Textile Museum Rémy Boucharlat, University of Lyon Maria Brosius, University of Newcastle Pierfrancesco Callieri, University of Bologna Matthew Canepa, University of Minnesota Nicholas Conard, University in Tübingen Jacob L Dahl, University of Oxford Michael Danti, Boston University Katrien De Graef, Macquarie University Mark B. Garrison, Trinity University Bruno Genito, University of Naples 'L'Orientale' Soroor Ghanimati, University of California at Berkeley and University of California at Merced Elham Ghasidian, University of Tübingen Seiro Haruta, Tokai University Stefan R. Hauser, University of Konstanz Barbara Helwing, German Archaeological Institute and the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen Wouter F.M. Henkelman, German Archaeological Institute Saman Heydari-Guran, University of Tübingen Ardeshir Javanmardzadeh, Tehran University Matthew D. Jones, University of Nottingham Trudy Kawami, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, New York Paul J. Kosmin, Harvard University Peter Magee, Bryn Mawr College Bernadette McCall, University of Sydney Negin Miri, Shahid Beheshti University Azad University, Tehran Abbas Moghaddam, Iranian Center for Archaeological Research in Tehran Michael G. Morony, UCLA Ali Mousavi, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Alexander Nagel, Freer|Sackler Galleries Bruno Overlaet, Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels Antonio C. D. Panaino, University of Bologna Cameron Petrie, University of Cambridge Holly Pittman, University of Pennsylvania D.T. Potts, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University Kate Masia-Radford, Independent scholar in Sydney Karen Radner, University College London Khodadad Rezakhani, London School of Economics Georges Rougemont, University of Lyon II Nikolaus Schindel, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna Rahim Shayegan, UCLA Prods Oktor Skjærvø, Harvard University Geoffrey Summers, University in Ankara Jan Tavernier, University of Louvain Christopher P. Thornton, University of Pennsylvania Museum Matthew Waters, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Lloyd Weeks is an Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham (UK). Josef Wiesehöfer, University in Kiel Michael Witzel, Harvard University Ran Zadok,Tel Aviv University

The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran

Edited by D. T. Potts

Reviews and Awards

"The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran commendably achieves its goal of providing an authoritative, up-to-date, multidisciplinary overview of this region for all periods up to the Islamic conquest, thanks in large part to the meticulous oversight of its editor D. T. Potts. ... This is a volume in which experts in history, archaeology, numismatics, linguistics, and other fields have been brought together to give a rich, multifaceted picture. ... The volume is sweeping, ambitious, and exemplary. Classicists will find within these thousand pages many nuggets of scholarly gold." - ICJ-Online, a service of The Classical Journal

"The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran at last provides a comprehensive overview and bibliography of the archaeology of pre-Islamic Iran. Potts has done a remarkable job bringing together scholars from every country that has played an important role in the archaeology of Iran. This book will certainly become the first source to turn to when embarking on a study on aspects of ancient Iran." - Steve Renette, BiOr no. LXXI 3/4